Orrin Hatch: “later tonight we will vote on the majority leader's bill to reduce the deficit and increase the Nation's statutory debt…”

“later tonight we will vote on the majority leader's bill to reduce the deficit and increase the Nation's statutory debt limit. Earlier today the House of Representatives decisively rejected the majority leader's proposal. If I got it right, the vote was 246 to 173. Thirteen did not vote, but there were 11 Democrats who voted against the proposal as well. It will be defeated here in the Senate later this evening or whenever the majority leader allows it to be voted on. It is fine with me, whatever he decides to do. As a substantive matter, I deeply oppose the efforts of the majority leader. His plan does not tackle the task at hand. The President would get a $2.7 trillion debt limit increase but less than $1 trillion in cuts, and most of those cuts are gimmicks, budgetary gimmicks. They assume savings from more spending that the President has not requested and that will be unlikely to materialize. It does not include a balanced budget amendment. Most important from my perspective, it assumes a massive tax increase in 2013 by allowing the 2001 and 2003 tax relief to expire, allowing the AMT to hit the middle-class taxpayers, and allowing for increases in estate taxes.…”